A poster in Barcelona implores people to stay at home. In Spain, there were more than a thousand new coronavirus cases in less than a day | David Ramos/Getty Images
Spain will declare a nationwide lockdown on Saturday, according to Spanish media reports.
It will become the second European country, after Italy, to take such a measure.
People will be asked to stay home except for buying food and going to work.
Coronavirus cases have risen by more than 1,500 in less than 24 hours, according to the Spanish health ministry.
New numbers published by the ministry show that the total number of confirmed cases in Spain rose from 4,231 on Friday at 6 p.m. to 5,753 on Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
On Friday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared a national "state of alarm," giving his government the power to take extraordinary steps to address the coronavirus pandemic. It lasts for 15 days but can be extended with the parliament's approval.
This is only the second time that a state of alarm has been declared since the end of Francisco Franco's dictatorship in 1975.
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